This invention relates in general to directional control valves and more specifically it relates to a sliding spool control valve controlled by an electromagnet and designed particularly for use in shift control systems of a motor vehicle. Conventional control valves of this type have a separate sliding spool which at one face is coupled to the armature whereas the other face of the spool cooperates with a differential piston. The disadvantage of this known construction is the separation of the electromagnet and of the valve proper into two separate structural units so that the resulting electromagnetically controlled valve is oversized and expensive to manufacture. In addition, conventional sliding spool valves are exposed to the danger of magnetic clamping of the sliding spool when a portion of the magnetic flux affects the sliding spool (German "Gebrauchsmuster" DE-GBM No. 72 02 049).